Local & Regional

12:27 pm

Mon October 15, 2012

Ex-Tennessee Official Accepts Oklahoma DHS Post

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A retired Tennessee human services official has accepted the job of director of the embattled Oklahoma Department of Human Services.

DHS announced Monday that Edward Lake of Hendersonville, Tenn., has agreed to take the job that was offered to him last Wednesday.

Lake will start on Nov. 1 at an annual salary of $185,000.

Howard Hendrick retired as DHS director in March after 14 years. The agency has come under fire in recent years following the high-profile deaths of several children who were in state custody. DHS also recently settled a federal class-action lawsuit over alleged maltreatment of children in state care that resulted in an overhaul of the way the agency cares for foster children

Lake spent 38 years with Tennessee's DHS before retiring in 2011 as deputy director.